Saturday, March 10, 2018

For starters, this is not an automobile "review" but rather a stunning visual experience of one of the world's most famous, most expensive car in the world. Yes, I am talking about none other than Rolls Royce. A brand known for its epitome of luxury, elegance, class and the "Royal" factor, owning a Rolls Royce itself is considered a prestige & status & authority symbol than anything else. The BMW owned brand calls it a "ceremonial" chariot, having been owned by the Kings, Nizams and Maharajas of India and currently comes under the "Super Luxury" category of cars. It comes as no surprise that this was also reinstated as the "Best Car in the World".

I was privileged to be invited as an automobile blogger to an exclusive launch of the Rolls Royce Phantom (extended wheelbase edition) , the first time in South India , here in Chennai. The first look of the car itself had a mesmerizing effect on me on the grandeur, beauty and the royal charisma, the car seemed to exude quite visibly. Be it the iconic Rolls Royce logo or the shining all-aluminium spaceframe, the Rolls Royce stood like a majestic vehicle in the centre of the ball room. Even as the engine was turned on and you sat inside it, the car stood at pin drop silence and you couldn't even make out the powerful V12 engine was actually running.

Here are some amazing facts about the Rolls Royce Phantom.

Owned by BMW

Founded in 1906, Rolls Royce , after a still competition between BMW & Volkswagen, was finally bought over by the BMW group. BMW was preferred as they were anyways in business providing the engines and other parts.

Sound Insulation

The car is layered up with 130Kg of sound insulation, fitted with a double laminated glass and you can expect absolute silence when you are being driven. Apparently sound was so quiet that even the test engineers had a hard time figuring out if their calibration machines were working or not.

Hand Made

One of the most distinctive features of the Rolls Royce is the Handmade finish. Almost everything in the Rolls Royce is made by hand. This includes

Rolls Royce Radiator Grille (even a measuring instrument is not used)

The Space Frame Chasse

5 Layers of Painting

The starry lit ceiling/roof of the car

Interior Veneers and pretty much everything else

Rolls Royce Logo in Wheel Cap

The distinctive Rolls Royce Logo with the double "R" , though placed in the center of the wheel cap, never rotates even the wheel is spinning at a great speed. I have no idea how they managed to do that, but that's something you should definitely notice, next time you see a Rolls Royce go past you.

Colour Choices

Spoilt for choice is literally a fact when it comes to the Rolls Royce. A customer can actually choose from 44,000 exterior colours and also any personalized design from the company. The Sultan of Brunei incidentally owns a Rolls Royce Phantom made of pure gold.

Material

You might as well experience the same luxury that of a 5 star hotel 'suite', being adorned with the finest leather and veneers. Even the rear seating is curated from lounge to individual formats. The impressive array of wood and leather can leave any one stunning.

Rolls Royce Phantom Tech Specs

The Phantom is a powerhouse when it comes to speed and performance and carries a top speed of 155 mph / 250 km/h . Acceleration to 0-100 km/h is just 5.4 seconds.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the extended wheelbase edition of the Rolls Royce Phantom are as follows:

Vehicle length 5982 mm / 235.5 in

Vehicle width 2018 mm / 79.4 in

Vehicle height (unladen) 1656 mm / 65.2 in

Wheelbase 3772 mm

Price :

Pricing in India for Phantom (Standard Wheelbase) has been officially announced at Rs 9.5 Crores, with Phantom Extended Wheelbase from Rs 11.35 Crores, inclusive of a four-year service package and regional warranty, 24-hour roadside support . This is an ex showroom price and taxes are extra.

Keep dreaming, never give up on anything , achieve your goals, and someday you might just find yourself owning one of these :)

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

I've always had a tough time choosing the right kind of gifts for my friends or loved ones, esp on special occassions such as her birthday , festivals or rather even a friend-versary. Without a doubt, jewellery, accessories are something they absolutely adore and would be delighted as a gift. However at the same time, there are greater chances that it can go wrong, incase you pick up something that doesn't match to their taste. While surfing through the web, I came across an interesting site called JewelOnFire and thought of reviewing it in my blog.

In general,the rates of diamond , platinum and other jewellery products are usually marked up by jewellery stores. This is because it passes through a distribution model , where it is moves from the supplier, distributor, middlemen and finally to the jewellery stores. With these multiple levels of markup, end of the day you may find the product to be heavily priced , far more than its worth.

JewelOnFire, took the inspiration from this and began creating an unique offering. They cut out all the irrelevant middlemen, worked directly with the manufacturers to sell some high quality diamond jewellery and gemstone, at roughly 90% off retail pricing. This was sold through their online marketplace, https://www.jewelonfire.com. This made the jewellery easily available to the masses than restricting only the elite ones who'd step into the premium jewellery showrooms.

They deal with variety of products including Rings, Bracelets, Necklaces, Earrings, Diamond and Gemstone sets among other things.Some of their white diamond rings start as low as 25$ and goes upto 400$ range.
Though not much into jewellery,I quickly checked their men's ring collection and they had some pretty interesting designs, that anyone could pull it off in style.

Zodiac Metal Chains

One thing that totally caught my eye was their Zodiac based metal chains/necklaces for just 19$ . This was really unique and something I was looking for quite a while

Fire Deal Offers

Jewel On Fire, true to their name actually has Weekly "Fire" deals, offering products for nearly 90% off. Who knows you might be a lucky one to grab one at the 90% sale , on a first come first serve basis.

Do note that they currently ship only within the United States with free shipping.
Do use my Promo Code: HKMURALI , for a whopping 25% discount !!

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

It's safe to agree that the country has witnessed a significant increase in awareness about health, hygiene and cleanliness thanks to social media, newspapers and to a small extent government's initiative to improve the same. However on the other hand, we can also see a steady increase of diseases, health issues and other sanitation issues.

Most of these diseases range from a mild occurence to a major outbreak, most of which is water borne and air borne diseases. Despite knowing these may be contagious, there has not much efforts to restrain or contain it from spreading widespread. Be it Malaria, Amoebiasis, Cholera , Typhoid, Leptospirosis , the water borne diseases are plenty.

Why does it occur?

The primary reason for a water borne disease to occur is because of presence of stagnated water around the house or contamination. Even if you can't really control the former, you have the option to eliminate any kind of impurities present in the water be it drinking or for other purposes. Unlike Western countries where tap water is safe for direct consumption, you still have to rely on boiled water or water purifier or much worse buy expensive "mineral water" from storesContamination of water happens almost everywhere, be it at the source or during transportation or even through an unsafe storage facility. India is pretty much now relying on Bubble tops and mineral cans. Despite being assured of a "treated" water, you can still find several impurities in the same. The only option to obtain clean water is buy water purifier ( be it a Reverse Osmosis or Ultra Violet or even a basic one).

Finding the best purifier in India can be a tough challenge given so many variants. These models vary by purification stages, storage capacity of the tank, warranty period among others. Unless you study these material and make a wise informed decision, based on your need, you can make a blunder. For example, if you get very hard water in your tap, but if the water purifier is not built for hard water and primarily for soft water, this will prove ineffective against contaminationYou may probably buy a water purifier from an offline store or the more preferred option is to buy online water purifier. These online sites provide full description of the product, price compare options, filtration technology used etc. These should help you identify what you exactly require

Types of Water Purifier

Having been a consumer myself, it took me quite a while to decide what kind of water purifier to buy. Hence a primary reason why I decided to write down a post on the types of purifiers and what are their functions.

Here's a quick insight into the different water purifiers and their various filtration technologies :
RO , UV , UF , Activated Carbon are the broad categories of water purifiers. Here's a few lines on each:

RO ( Reverse Osmosis ) Water Purifier

The most powerful water purifier is the Reverse Osmosis one. Suitable for both hard water and soft water, it has a RO membrane that passes the water through it in a pressurized manner. Any materials like chlorine, arsenic, fluoride , nitrates will be removed immediatel. Other water borne disease agents like microorganisms, bacteria, viruses are also completely removed, thus providing clean safe water. This is marginally expensive than other standard water purifiers

UV Water Purifier

As the name goes, Ultraviolet water purifier passes water through a UV light and this is an effective process to kill a lot of organisms like germs, bacteria , viruses etc. However this is not an ideal purifier if you want to treat hard water.

UF Water Purifier (Ultra Filtration):

Like a basic water filter, it passes the water through a small thin membrane. This succesfully removes bacteria and viruses and a few contaminated particles. It works without electricity , removes muddy water too but not ideal for highly contaminated water or hard water.

Activated Carbon

This recently introduced variants uses the special properties of Carbon to purify the water. When the water passes through it, chemicals,pesticide elements and other materials sticks to the carbon surface thereby purifying the water. However any dissolved particles, salts may not be purified in this method.

So quit relying on bubble tops, expensive mineral water cans or boiling pots of water from tap and instead go for a reliable sturdy water purifier.

Friday, February 23, 2018

My love for travel has always been there since childhood. Every May and December, our family made it a point to visit a beautiful place during the holiday period. More than two decades back, international travel was never really a possibility for many families or rather even a dream. It was always somewhere within the country, be it Ooty , Kodaikanal, Shimla-Manali, Delhi-Agra or somewhere in the east. However airlines like AirAsia other LowCost carriers, with a motto of "Now Everyone can Fly" made international travel sometimes cheaper than a domestic trip. So here’s a list of my top travel destinations or rather bucketlist destinations), that I’d definitely want to visit soon. The list of destinations is in no specific order.

Morocco

When I researched about the African subcontinent, most people either asked me to check South Africa (for adventure) or probably Egypt (for the pyramids and Nile River cruises). However, a destination many have overlooked and definitely in my sights is Morocco. A city of vibrant colors, history & culture, Marrakesh can actually stun you with its unique charm. Just check for Marrakech vacation rentals, and you can plenty of beautiful properties where you can get to stay and experience a fantastic Moroccan vacation. Marrakesh, the land of god, is actually a hidden gem, unknown to most travellers and I’m just hoping to head out there someday. Do check out a post of mine in my travel blog about the top things to do in Marrakech

New Zealand

The eastern most country in the world and also happens to be the world’s most beautiful destination, I have seen New Zealand mostly during the cricket matches that places in Auckland or Wellington. Just by those glimpses of what they show, you know it’s a destination, one should definitely experience. New Zealand is primarily famous for its adventure (especially bungee jumping), exotic film locations ( the famous Lord of the Rings movie series was shot here) , national parks, beautiful islands and expansive mountains , national parks to name a few.

Japan

One of the most advanced countries in terms of technology, Japan has been a fantastic success story that has stunned the world. From bullet trains to volcanic mountains to beautiful temples, Japan is one country I’d definitely want to see within the next two years. Despite being a small south east Asian country, it’s also one of the most expensive countries to live or even visit and you could easily shell out a couple of Lakhs (2000-3000$) in Indian rupees for a simple visit . Though it’s one of the first destinations I check in every flight sale, it somehow looks always out of reach and I resign myself to check another time. The mother of electronics (the better quality ones) and cute stationaries, that may also be a primary reason for my major craving for Japan. My List of cities to visit : Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima

China

Another country similar to Japan, but comparatively slightly less expensive on the wallet, China gives plenty of reasons why one should visit it. Starting with the Great Wall of China, you can be assured of a world wonder to visit. Second only to Japan, you can’t get enough of electronics and other wonderful things that you get to purchase in China. In addition to this , the historical city of Beijing and the metropolitan city of Shanghai can give you a confluence of the Chinese culture as it aims to become a super power. Chinese food (the vegetarian ones) is also something I want to try quite eagerly.

South America (Brazil / Colombia / Peru)

I have always had a fascination for South American countries . Known for its culture, football , national wonders and man made architectures, the cost of living is also cheaper on the wallet. However the flights to and fro can be the only thing that has kept me from travelling to this beautiful part of the countinent. Be it the Macchu Picchu, Rio Di Janeiro or the Christ Redeemer statue, it’s always under my radar and would probably jump at a chance to visit it.

Europe ( Italy, Spain & Austria)

Every part of Europe has a distinct flavour to it. Though they have a common currency, the architectural marvels, food, culture and a lot of things vary from country to country. Italy has been in my list, ever since I read about the museums in Dan Brown novels as he explains in details about the architecture in Rome, Venice and other cities. Spain, to experience the Spanish culture, try out the spicy food and of course visit the fashion capital of the world. Austria, to experience the Alps, in its true glory and other snowcapped peaks.

United States of America

This has been a country, that has been slipping away from my sights for many a time. So many opportunities in the workplace turned out to be a missed chance and it has always eluded me. My preferred list of cities to visit includes New York, Washington, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Houston. With an expensive dollar rate, tough visa restrictions and lack of dates for vacation, it was never easy to plan a trip out here. But somehow, I feel it in my sights and would definitely be a country that I have planned to visit by next year max.

What’s on your bucket list of destinations? I’d love to know.. Do comment about it.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

If you had a chance to read my earlier post on McDonald's strategy, you'd know that their recent launch in South Indian market is a new rice based product. With a strong affinity towards rice items and a primary meal for both lunch and dinner , it comes as no surprise that Mcdonald's is venturing into this segment.

Currently regarded as a "bread" or "Burger-Fries" joint, the new product come as welcome relief to many families who'd want something "else". Though it's difficult to break the perception in the beginning and it may be a while till McDonald's can actually be known for a food place that serves a "complete" meal for the family. The latest rice addition only accelerates that growth and eventually puts them on the desired path.

With a tagline of "Super Passi", it aims to fill "the hunger" through the rice fiesta. Again another first from the brand, who was earlier a choice for a evening snack or a quick takeaway of their burgers.

McDonalds's Rice Fiesta - Variants

The neproduct, namely Rice Fiesta comes in two different variants

Veggies and Cheese Rice

Given the two alternatives, I chose this one and gave it a try. Served in a large plastic box, the Veggie & Cheese Rice fiesta looked very good at first glance. Scored high both on temperature, quantity and presentation. The Rice Fiesta had a mixture of rice (Brownish white in colour) and vegetables like carrot, peas and corn. The top layer , which adds the flavor and the taste to the rice, has a mixture of melted cheese, zucchini tossed in cream (something resembling the top layer of a corn au gratin/lasagne).

Beans and Gravy Rice

Quite similar to the Veggies & Cheese, this however comes with the non-cheese variant. You have a "Indian gravy" kinda layer that replaces the cheese and a healthy portion of vegetables and beans mixed along with it . The top layer contains a large portion of tomato gravy mixed with basil, garlic, and some pepper for the spice. People who'd prefer a much spicy variant may definitely opt for this . The rice below is mixed with beans, carrot , kidney beans and chick peas.

(The above is also available in a non-veg variants served along with chicken chunks)

Presentation & Review :

The cheese layer in the Veggie and Cheese variant was excellent, creamy and of course a scoop of rice along with the cheese layer made it a perfect combination. However as you get to the bottom layers of the rice and the hotness subsides, it becomes slightly difficult to finish it . So the trick is to not immediate finish off the top layer ( Like we do eating cream biscuits). You have to use the given spoon to mix the cheese and rice layers pretty neatly and you can finish it off in no time.

The rice is much different from the usual Fried rice you get in restaurants or the Chinese bowl of rice that you get in places like Wangs Kitchen. Somewhere between a cross of Mexican and Indian, this has potential to definitely be a great alternative for the burgers ( and much healthier comparitively).
A bowl of rice can easily be shared with two people , if they are having an additional item along with this.

Pricing

At 119 for the vegetarian variant, and 139 for the non vegetarian version, this seems very reasonable. Not a pricing expert, but in my opinion a sub 100Rs pricing could have been an interesting price point to boost sales and would have encouraged more people to try this new item. With a burger costing around 60-70 , this is almost double the price and I'm curious to know if this segment is indeed price sensitive or not.
But overall, given the quantity, taste and quality, the 119 price is still a good value for money.

What could be better ?

The cheese layer could have been more to mix it with the whole bowl of rice underneath. Of course, clear instructions on mixing the layers could be given orally. A side of crisps or french fries would go very well with this as well and may as well be offered as a combo.

Here's a video of their new product launch

I was invited on behalf of McDonald's to try out their new product launch. However the review is unbiased and fully represents my personal opinion only.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

2018 saw some new & different resolutions that I have decided to undertake. Its primarily about taking better care of myself, especially on skincare, Yes, I always assumed men and skincare is never really a thing, until recently. For me , taking care of skin was just washing my face with water, probably twice a day.

Having an oily skin, acne breakouts was quite frequent in my face. The blackheads and pimple scars remained though the acne went off. I have never really bothered to cut down on junk foods or oily stuff and the acne followed pretty much the next day. But with some motivation and a lot of nudging from the best friend Deepika, I finally accepted to undertake a new "Mission Skincare".

Here are some of my scribbled notes from my best friend's advice

Healthwise I have given a lot of attention to my body with a good fitness routine at the gym, 5 times a week.
But skincare was something that slipped my attention and never really worked . I have tried a lot of ointments, treatments and facewashes available in the market. Post that I just stopped trying.

Skincare Routine

A skincare routine doesnt start or end with applying an acne gel. That alone never really works. It involves a complete rehaul of your daily routine , diet schedule and cleansing your system as well. This holistic skin care routine was probably the best thing that I've done so far and the results seem to show its working after 2-3 weeks itself.

Here's how I look now :)
(Picture was taken today (Feb 19) and no filters/edits has been made on the same).

Here's my new routine:

Morning :

Washing the face with a good Face wash (primarily meant for oily skin)

Once the face is towel dried, apply the Aloe Vera Face Gel on the affected area.

Before heading out for the day, apply a good sunscreen on the face and skin.

Evening : Once back home, wash the face again, aply a good moisturiser to nourish the skin .

Night : Again use the Acne gel (Post washing) and leave it to dry.

Green Tea : Preferably have one cup in the morning and one in the evening

So having taken up the resolution , I am trying out a whole new set of products from an Organic brand called "Chandhani Skin Naturals". This included the following items (The best part is , the whole set (excluding the honey) costed me less than 500 INR (all inclusive).

1. Chandhani Aloe Vera Acne Gel (with Tea Tree Oil) - Price : Rs.100

This was really a boon for me. An acne gel that had both Aloe Vera and Tea tree oil, combined with Salicylic acid ( Another anti acne component ), this cleared my acne breakout in just over a week. I haven't really endorsed or encouraged any specific cosmetic before , but this turned out be a really effective one .

Though there are only traces of acne now, the large portion of pimples have vanished and the blackheads disappearing . Though tea tree oil usually carries a strong odour, the gel has been mixed with some perfume and gives a very nice fragrance.. (Strongly recommend this for your pimples, though you could also consult a doctor, if its very high).

2. Venitaa AntiDandruff Shampoo - Price : Rs.168

Another product I picked up was the above one, called Venitaa Anti Dandruff shampoo because of three reasons :

1.Tea tree oil based anti-dandruff shampoo ( Instead of any other chemicals)2. Sulfate and Paraben Freeshampoo ( Usually available only in very expensive shampoos)3. Apple Cider Vinegar (a strong agent for prevention of dandruff and bacteria)

I have regularly tried other anti dandruff shampoos, but havent seen much success. However I can quite positively say, there's been a substantial reduction in dandruff and the hair texture is slowly becoming smoother too . Again, everything requires a consistent usage as prescribed and what works for me, may or may not work for others. So give it a try for yourself and get to decide.

3. Dioli Green Tea (Concentrated Liquid) - Price : Rs.180

Let me be frank here. I am not a major fan of green tea. But the past one year or so , I have taken up to drinking green tree atleast once a day at office, as soon as I begin my work. I usually take a random tea bag , dip it in half cup of hot water , mix it with normal water and stir it well and drink it in one gulp. I may not appreciate the taste of it, but I know it has kept my metabolism, immunity and health in top condition.

So my friend introduced me to India's first "Concentrated" liquid Green Tea. So the tea comes like a liquid sachet (4ml). You just have to cut open and pour the conents onto a cup of hot water and stir it. You get a steaming cup of very strong green tea.

From what I saw , you can use it to make two cups of green tea from a single sachetand more importantly the taste is far less bitter than other brands.

4. Slimming Honey

Not exactly as a part of primary routine, I am also trying to add honey to my diet. Though this is a great product for weight loss, I am adding it in food like between bread slices or even mixing it with a few tiffin/breakfast items , mainly to add to a nutritional diet and a much better alternative for sugar.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

The no of global chains that has become quite successful, is actually fewer than you think. Apart from the big players like McDonald’s, KFC, Subway ,Dominos and the recent entry of Starbucks, other chains either seem to struggle to enter the country or have quit operations soon after opening.

The success and failure in the Indian market, in particular, largely depends on the strategy and product offering, irrespective of the investment or how much you spend on marketing. As long as you have a good international brand name, goodwill and a positive vibe around your product, most of your work is already done for you.

McDonald’s - A Happy Meal Indeed

Let's focus on McDonald's here. Without a doubt, they are one of the most successful fast food and in particular "Burger" brand in the country. This has propelled them to expand further in several cities at a rapid pace. There isn’t a single mall in the country, that doesn't carry a McDonald’s outlet. A quick, tasty and more importantly affordable meal for the family has been one of the most important reasons for success.

Burgers in India was never really a popular dish in the Indian market before the entry of McDonald's. A much popular food in US, UK and even parts of Southeast Asian, burgers in India was primarily restricted to the elite cafes, upmarket & star restaurants as a snack or part of high tea. McDonald's broke that barrier quite successfully single-handedly and introduced burgers starting as low as 49Rs. This basically stormed the market. The target audience expanded from a first standard kid to college students and even middle aged persons.

Product Variants

The success didn't only lie in the price point , but rather how a Global Chain like McDonald's could go Local by customizing the product completely based on regional preferences. The burgers came with a variety of Indian spices, masala powders, Paneer, Aloo Tikki patty etc. primarily suited for the Indian Palette. They also introduced other products like Chicken Wings, Kebab Burgers, Chatpata Naans, Potato Wedges (an Indian alternative to French Fries) and so forth.

I had an exclusive chat with the Senior Vice President – Strategy, Innovation and Capability, McDonald’s India (West & South)on this . Providing global foods, adapting to the regional market was key to their strategy. Again, it wasn't a "One country One strategy". McDonald’s started customizing by the different regions it was based out of. Though the base menu was quite similar, the variants differed quite significantly from say Mumbai and Chennai ( two entirely different markets ). Keeping this in mind, she added that their next launch was also a prime example of their "Going Local" strategy: Rice Meals.

Mcdonald's Menu & Store Categories

Mcdonald's further expanded their menu to add a local flavour and moved from just normal burgers to kebab burgers, wraps, fries, ice creams etc . Expansion was not only through menu , but also through different store categories. Starting as a stall inside food courts in malls, they started their standalone stores, drive thrus and even Dessert only Kiosks. Currently they have 271 outlets in the South and West Region in India alone.

Their differentiator was also in terms of the impeccable quality standards they maintain, service levels and price point also to a certain extent.

What's Next at McDonald's?

Well, this warrants a separate blog post, a review of their new product launch. As mentioned in the above paragraph, it’s a rice based product, specially catering to South India, starting in Chennai. The product is called Rice Fiesta and comes in a few variants to essentially complete the "Family meal" offering.

Do check out my next post on the McDonalds Rice Fiesta, to know whether they have really aced it or barely met expectations?